“I started robbing to cater for my pregnant wife” – Suspect
A team of policemen in Port Harcourt and Umuahia, have arrested four suspected bank robbers.
The police arrested Benjamin Emeka, 28; Obe Awa, 29; Remembrance Obikwe, 35; and Aniefiok Sunday, 29, who were said to have robbed a bank customer of N3.2m.
Obe, a graduate of Business Administration and Management, Rivers State Polytechnic, said he was left with no option but to join the robbery syndicate due to his lack of money to cater for his pregnant wife.
Obe added that he had lost his job after which he joined Aniefiok and others to be robbing.
He said, “We are robbers. Two of our members were arrested in Uyo and they brought the police to Port Harcourt to arrest me. We are six and the remaining two persons have escaped. We have robbed banks in Port Harcourt and Uyo.
“I handled one of the AK47 (guns) and our major aim is not to kill, but to collect the money. I am into armed robbery because I lost my job; my wife is pregnant, but she doesn’t know that I am a robber.”
Recounting their mode of operations, the arrested persons confessed to the crime.
Sunday said his role was to act as a spy. According to him, he watches those who go to banks and come out with huge amount of money.
“My role is to go to a bank and watch out for people observe coming out with money; I then pass the information to our members outside to attack the person. We have robbed the bank on two occasions before I was detected on that day. We didn’t kill.” Sunday added.
Obikwe, another suspect, revealed that they were informants to a six-man armed robbery gang.
He said they specialised in trailing and robbing bank customers who withdrew large sums of money from banks.
“On February 6, we got to Uyo and we went to the bank and one of the security officers saw my colleague, followed him and held him. When I came in, they also held me. I am an informant to Obe and Emeka. The CCTV noticed him (Sunday) during the last bank robbery,” Obikwe said.
Odiko Ogbeche, Akwa Ibom Police Public Relations Officer, confirmed that the police were on the trail of picking up Elder, the gang’s kingpin who is on the run.
